![]() ![]() The relationships of the merlin are not resolved to satisfaction. The wizard's name is an English cognate of the Welsh name “ Myrddin” and is unrelated to the name of the bird. Īlhough the merlin shares its name with the wizard Merlin prominent in Arthurian legendry, the bird is not named after the wizard. The species was once known as 'pigeon hawk' in North America. ![]() Wycliffe's Bible, around 1382, mentions An Egle, & agriffyn, & a merlyon. There are related Germanic words derived through older forms such as Middle Dutch smeerle, Old High German smerle and Old Icelandic smyrill. The name "merlin" is derived from Old French esmerillon via Anglo-Norman merilun or meriliun. If two species of merlins are recognized, the Old World birds would thus bear the scientific name F. Thirteen years after Linnaeus's description Marmaduke Tunstall recognized the Eurasian birds as a distinct taxon Falco aesalon in his Ornithologica Britannica. The species name columbarius is Latin for "of doves" from "columba", "dove". The genus name is Late Latin falco derives from falx, falcis, a sickle, referring to the claws of the bird. Based on this description, in 1758 Carl Linnaeus included the species in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae and introduced the present binomial name Falco columbarius with the type locality as "America". The merlin was described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby (as the "pigeon hawk") in his Natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands published in 1729–1732. In recent decades merlin populations in North America have been significantly increasing, with some merlins becoming so well adapted to city life that they forgo migration. The merlin has for centuries been well regarded as a falconry bird. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters which specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to quail. Males typically have wingspans of 53–58 centimetres (21–23 in), with females being slightly larger. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. The merlin ( Falco columbarius) is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. They typically alternate between a few flaps and gliding.Falco aesalon Tunstall, 1771 (but see text) Accipiter hawks, such as Cooper’s and sharp-shinned, have short, rounded wings and longer tails, and they are mostly seen in wooded areas. American kestrels are smaller and always have two prominent black vertical stripes on their faces, while the merlin’s single mustache stripe is faint. Peregrine and prairie falcons are much larger. Similar species: Like other falcons, merlins have long, narrow, pointed wings that typically bend back sharply at the “wrist.” But in flight, seen from below, their tails look darker and are more boldly banded than our other falcons. Merlins in flight flap quickly and continually and rarely glide. The larger and paler Great Plains form of the Merlin is regular in western Missouri. An indistinct moustache streak is usually present. The tail is dark with narrow light bands. The adult male merlin is blue-gray above and heavily streaked below.
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